During the 2009–10 Alpine skiing season, American Lindsey Vonn again showed why she was one of the world’s most dominant athletes as she won her third straight International Ski Federation (FIS) World Cup overall crown as well as two medals—the downhill gold and the supergiant slalom (super G) bronze—at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Vonn edged out Germany’s Maria Riesch for the second straight season to become the first American woman—and the third woman in history—to take three consecutive overall titles. She also won her third straight World Cup downhill title and second consecutive super G crown while earning her first in super combined, making her the first American to win three World Cup discipline titles in a single season. Overall, Vonn won 11 World Cup races in 2009–10, thus breaking her own American record of 9 set the previous season, and surpassed Bode Miller’s American mark with her 33rd career World Cup victory. Vonn accomplished all these feats despite racing with a badly bruised right shin that almost sidelined her at the Olympics and despite having suffered a broken finger in a crash at the Games.

Although Riesch lost again to Vonn for the overall title, she won the slalom season crown for the second consecutive year, as well as Olympic gold medals in slalom and super combined. Kathrin Hölzl of Germany took the season title in giant slalom (GS), and compatriot Viktoria Rebensburg won the Olympic gold in that discipline. Austria’s Andrea Fischbacher struck Olympic gold in super G. Other women who shone in Vancouver were American Julia Mancuso (with silver medals in super combined and downhill) and Slovenia’s Tina Maze (silver medals in GS and super G).

Carlo Janka became the first Swiss man to earn the overall World Cup title since 1992 and the youngest overall champion since Norway’s Kjetil André Aamodt, who was also 23 when he took the title in 1994. Janka finished second for the downhill season title (won by compatriot Didier Cuche), as well as for GS (behind American Ted Ligety) and super combined (behind Benjamin Raich of Austria). Austria’s Reinfried Herbst was the overall slalom champion, and Erik Guay of Canada took the super G title. At the Olympics, Miller, who struggled in 2009, made a comeback to capture a gold medal in super combined, a silver in super G, and a bronze in downhill. Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway matched Miller’s achievement with a gold medal in super G, a silver in downhill, and a bronze in GS. Janka was victorious in the GS; Italy’s Giuliano Razzoli won the slalom; and Didier Defago of Switzerland took the gold in downhill. Croatia’s Ivica Kostelic was a double silver medalist, in slalom and super combined.

Nordic Skiing

Petter Northug of Norway had an impressive 2009–10 cross-country season by winning the overall Nordic World Cup title as well as the distance crown and earning four medals at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Sweden’s Emil Jönssen won the men’s season sprint title. In the women’s field, Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk captured the overall and distance titles for the second straight season while also taking the crown in sprint and earning three Olympic medals. Marit Bjørgen of Norway finished in second place behind Kowalczyk in all three season disciplines but earned five medals, including three gold, in Vancouver, the most of any athlete competing there.

France’s Jason Lamy Chappuis was dominant in Nordic combined, securing the overall World Cup title and the Olympic gold. The Americans had a rare solid performance at the Olympics, with Bill Demong and Johnny Spillane combining for five medals and helping the U.S. reach the Nordic skiing podium for the first time. Switzerland’s Simon Ammann took the season crown in ski jumping and both individual gold medals in Vancouver.

Freestyle Skiing

Anton Kushnir of Belarus and Li Nina of China won, respectively, the men’s and women’s overall and aerials World Cup titles in 2010, and Ophélie David of France won her seventh straight women’s season title in ski cross. Australia’s Dale Begg-Smith took the moguls crown for the fourth time in five years, but he had to settle for silver behind Canadian Alexandre Bilodeau at the Vancouver Olympics. Switzerland’s Michael Schmid won both the men’s season title and the Olympic gold in ski cross. Canada’s Jennifer Heil took the season title in moguls but was second to American Hannah Kearney in Vancouver.

Snowboarding

Austria’s Benjamin Karl won the overall World Cup snowboarding title in 2009–10, as well as the season crown and a silver medal in parallel at the Vancouver Olympics. Maëlle Ricker of Canada was the women’s overall winner and earned the season title in snowboardcross (SBX) to go with her gold medal in Vancouver. The men’s SBX season title went to France’s Pierre Vaultier. Justin Lamoureux of Canada won the halfpipe title, and Austria’s Stefan Gimpl took the big air crown for the third straight season. Nicolien Sauerbreij of the Netherlands secured the women’s crown and the Olympic gold in parallel, and China’s Cai Xuetong was the season champion in halfpipe but finished far behind Torah Bright of Australia at the Olympics. Only Americans Shaun White (halfpipe) and Seth Wescott (SBX) repeated as Olympic snowboarding champions after having won at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

Gold medalist Maëlle Ricker of Canada charges down the snowboardcross (SBX) course at the …